is it repairable?

[singist]

I have a cheap DGM L2248WD that I can hardly read as it has become very dark; obviously something has gone wrong with the electronics.

Just wondering if it is worth trying to get it repaired or just bin it.

Any advice would be welcome.

 

[aatu]

Well, you can get new (and bigger and better) monitors for less than £100, so unless you can get it repaired REALLY cheap, it's not worth it.

Was the change sudden? Like one day working fine, next morning very black? If it's a sudden change, it could be a backlight issue. Not impossible to change by yourself (after ordering a spare backlight unit), but I wouldn't advice going that route unless you (or a close friend) have some prior experience with electronics. Furthermore, it might be something else, entirely...

You can get cheap 23" e-IPS monitors for less than £150 (like the Dell U2312HM), which are quite a lot better than TN panels. I'd recommend going that route. Well, personally I would get something around £250-£300, but it depends on your own budget, really.

 

[jamesfreddie]

It sounds like either the inverter or backlight.

On such a cheap mointor its not worth replacing the backlights. But you may be able to get a replacement inverter cheaply and try that.

You could also take the back off it and check if there are any bulging / blown caps.

 

[singist]

Thanks for that aatu; it is only a spare monitor but quite handy when just needing a screen when repairing/building other computers. Looks like it is destined for the bin.

 

[Diggsy]

What exactly are the symptoms? Does it flash initially then go dark? Does it flash on and off then go dark? Or does it simply not light up at all?

It'll cost you nothing to take it apart and have a look. If you're lucky it could be failing/failed capacitors (really cheap and easy fix) or the inverter transformer (again cheap and easy). Both of these require nothing more than a little patience and the ability to use a soldering iron.

The worst scenario would be the backlights (which I suspect it may be given the symtoms you've described) and this is tricky to do and a little more expensive. CCFL Warehouse currently do a standard 4 tube monitor kit for $30 with about $13 postage.

I've actually just repaired my own Samsung SM206BW which initially had bad caps, then a dodgy transformer and finally dodgy CCFL tubes. It was a fiddly process, but is working perfectly again - well apart from the fact I stupidly overtightened a couple of screws and cracked 10mm of the lcd to the left hand side

Give me a shout if you need to know any more about repairing it and I'll help as best I can.